


Come Rain or Snow

by RoamingScroll



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Dumb Ship Best Ship, F/F, F/M, Fluff, I still don't know tags, Like seriously there needs to be more of this ship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-11 01:44:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7870705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoamingScroll/pseuds/RoamingScroll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a few months since Jasper's been uncorrupted and willingly joined the Crystal Gems. So far She's been able to live by herself on the beach, her only interactions with others being when she goes on missions or hangs out with Peridot, Steven, or Amethyst. But a storm is brewing and even gems need shelter from the winter, so she is convinced to leave the beach and live with Greg, or at least near him. What will happen to these two, will Greg be able to teach Jasper about peace and love on the planet Earth, will Jasper learn that she doesn't have to go it alone, will Peridot ever stop being so adorable? Only time will tell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Winter is coming and it brought along some plot

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm back! Here's my second go at a story and I'm really hoping it turns out ok. I've had this idea since a little after I started Finding Logic in Love, and now I've finally gone and started writing it. I want to try to make this one more detailed and in depth then my last story, so with that and the fact that schools started, chapters will probably be quite sporadic. I hope you all enjoy it and as a reminder, feedback and constructive criticism is always wanted and appreciated.

 

            Dark clouds have started clumping in the sky over Beach City, an ominous foreshadowing of a large storm to soon hit the small town; but that was the least of Greg's worries. The owner of the currently closed "It's a Wash" was in the middle of an equally ominous conversation with a certain Crystal Gem.

            "Are you sure this is a good idea Pearl?" His arms were folded and a look of uneasiness spread across his face.

            "I completely understand your concerns Greg but Jasper has come a long way ever since we saved her from corruption; she's really shown her loyalty to us and really redeemed herself from her past." Pearl looked just about as uncomfortable as Greg, she herself was still uneasy about Jasper, but only because she knew the truth about what Rose did, and how hard that must have been for Jasper, she's still unsure if Jasper has really joined them or if eventually she'll try to exact revenge for her lost Diamond.

            "Ya but, does she really have to stay in my car wash, can you guys not make some room for her at the Temple or something?" Greg is all for helping the Gems out and all, but he knew to stay out the more dangerous things going on in their lives, and the stories he's heard about Jasper would make you think if you looked up danger in a dictionary it would just show a picture of her face.

            "I'm sorry Greg but no, Garnet and her still hold some grudges against one another so she refuses to stay at the Temple, and Lapis absolutely will not allow her to stay at the barn with her and Peridot." 

            "Well where has she been staying since she became a part of the team?" Greg was starting to feel bad over his unwillingness to let Jasper live with him, or at least be a close neighbor; after all, everyone deserves a second chance and he hasn't even given her a first one.

            "She seems to just "camp out" on the beach during most nights, but with the oncoming storm and the winter chill getting harsher, we felt it was time for her to have some proper shelter."

            Greg let out a long and reluctant sigh, his caring for others finally overcoming the fear of the Homeworld Gem. "I guess its fine, it's not like a car wash will be open at night and maybe she could even help out around the place during the day." He finally loosened up at the thought of some help at work, even though winter is here, there seemed to be more customers than usual, and to be honest, Greg was not getting any younger.

            Pearl smiled and clasped her hands together as if to show the conversation was a success. "Great, I will go and tell everyone the good news." The pale gem did a little spin and started making her way back towards the Temple and Greg to his van. Before he could open the door however he heard the pale gem calling his name again.

            "Ya Pearl?" He turned and jumped slightly, not expecting her to be right in front of him, how did she move so silently?

            "I just thought that I should tell you..." The gem started rubbing the back of her neck and looked uncomfortable. "That I should tell you that you can always come to us if you need some help, I know we don't really say it, but we all appreciate your help, with both Steven and all the other things you've done for us. So if Jasper or anything else causes a problem for you, remember you can look to us for assistance." Greg just stared at Pearl for a moment, overcome with joy from this rare sentiment, and from Pearl no less.

            Pearl wasn't sure what to make of the silence, so she just started back towards the Temple again.

            "Hey Pearl." The gem flipped her head around to look at Greg, who now seemed glow from her previous comment. "Thanks." She just gave him a small smile that came with a nod, then waved goodbye.

            Greg looked up at the sky, still dark and ominous, but small splotches of light filtered through. He pumped a fist in the air and gave a shout. He didn't know how this was going to work out, but he was going to try his best on making Jasper feel welcome.

                                            _________________________________________________________________________________________________           

            Loud grunts could be heard from the beach near the Temple, no doubt being made from a certain orange gem doing her daily training regime. She was in the middle of a set of push-ups, sweat glistening down her body and a small green gem sitting on her back.

            "For the last time Peridot, I don't need any help, especially not from some insignificant human." Jasper said as swapped from her left to right hand.

            "And I'm telling you for the last time this isn't help, and Greg's just going to be there because he owns the place. We just want to make sure you have some kind of shelter from the oncoming storms and you're not just sitting out here because you think some earth weather won't hurt you." Peridot crossed her arms with a slight hmph. Jasper knew she meant well but really didn't need anyone looking after her.

            "I'm telling ya I'll be fine Peridot." Jasper stood up and stretched her back, causing the smaller gem on top of her to fall over on her back. "Really, if you keep fretting over me like this you might make your girlfriend jealous." She gave a large smirk as she put her hand out to help her friends up, Peridot just replied with a harsh glare before accepting the hand.

            "First off, I'm pretty sure Lapis knows I would never betray our partnership, especially not for some oaf like you." She gave a cocky grin there before continuing. "Secondly, I don't care if you think you'll be fine, I care whether or not **I** think you'll be fine, which I don't." Peridot was starting to get quite frustrated with the bulky gem; she has been out here for hours now trying to get Jasper to listen to reason per request of Pearl. Peridot understood the reasoning behind it, both Pearl and Garnet told her about the upcoming winter storms a few days ago and she knew Jasper should at least have a roof over her head. Stars, could Jasper be a clod sometimes.

            "Look Jasper." Peridot's voice got low and serious. "I understand that you feel like you need to be able to live on your own, to be able to live anywhere, conquer any environment and make it bow its head to you, but this isn't Homeworld and this isn't some mission, all this is, is life, **_your life_**. You can live how you want, I won't tell you to be someone you are not, but that doesn't mean that you can't or shouldn't except help. You won't be mocked or ridiculed or looked down upon for getting help from others, help is just another way that people show they care about you enough to go out of their way to assist you. That's why I'm here with you, because **I** care Jasper, about you and your wellbeing, so even if you don't want to do this for yourself, could you at least do it for me so that I don't have to worry about you all the time?" Peridot's gaze never left Jasper's. Jasper could tell how much this meant to the little gem, the sincerity in her voice was more than enough; she let out a long and drawn out sigh, before breaking eye contact and muttering something under her breath.

            "What was that?"

            "I said fine you clod." Jasper letting out a laugh and picking Peridot up and tossing her onto her shoulders. "You know I'm supposed to be **_your_** protector right." Peridot gave a yelp as she was tossed on Jasper's shoulders and then rolled her eyes at the comment.

            "Well when my bodyguard stops being an oaf all the time maybe I won't have to worry about her." She gave a big smile, happy not just that Jasper finally accepted some help but the fact that her friendship with the large gem hasn't ended, she was, after all, the main supporter of giving Jasper a second chance; she knew that what the orange gem did was wrong and that she made some horrible decisions, but so has she, and so has all the others, and Jasper should at least be given a second chance just like the rest of them.

            "Why don't we go give Steven the good news, I'm sure he'll be happy that you finally listened to reason." Jasper gave a small grunt and started making her way back towards the Temple with Peridot in tow.


	2. Greg Universe, Illustrious Earth Warrior

It was a day later and Jasper was already thinking about taking back her word. Her, Pearl, and Peridot are heading towards her new home away from homeworld as Peridot put it, talking about how much she would enjoy living with Greg; well more like Pearl and Peridot were talking and Jasper lagged behind and nodded her head every now and then, not really paying attention. Her focus was on her surroundings, the trees that used to be vibrant and green where now red, yellow, and decaying, was this what the winter Steven was telling her about do? Suck the life out of its inhabitants? 

"I don't think some puny human could protect me from that, even if said human was chosen by Rose Quartz, I'll probably have to end up protecting him in the end." Jasper chuckled at the thought, she was, after all, meant to not just be a warrior but a guardian, so the prospect of protecting something again amused her. She was broken out of her thoughts by the incessant prodding of a little gems finger on her thigh. 

"Jasper? Earth to Jasper, were here." Peridot's nasally voice said, followed by a yelp when Jasper grabbed her hand and growled. Jasper wasn't really mad but she thought scaring the small gem would be funny, and the look on her friends face was priceless. Letting out a bellowing laugh she patted Peridot on the shoulder and reassured her she was just messing with her. Peridot just scowled and mumbled something to Pearl. 

"Now, now, Peridot, don't be like that, we still have to make sure Greg and Jasper get along nicely before we can leave. Speaking of which, where is Greg?" As if on cue, the doors to the van opened and a slightly disheveled human came tumbling out. 

"Sorry, sorry, I was so busy last night trying to get everything ready that I didn't go to sleep until..." The rest of the sentence came out in a mumbled mess when he caught sight of Jasper for the first time. The only thing he's really heard about her is the destruction she caused, and honestly from what happened he always pictured her as some kind of monster but now that he's actually face to face with the gem in question that image was completely off. Standing as tall as his van if not taller, looking like she came right out of a bodybuilding course, with long luxurious hair that seems extremely taken care of, Greg can't deny that this sudden transition of images caused a lump to form in his throat. 

"Y-y-you must be Jasper" He said, kicking himself internally for stuttering. Jasper didn't respond, only gazing down at the human, Greg couldn't tell what she was thinking, she sort of seemed like she was sizing him up, making him seem pretty small. Eventually after what seemed like hours to the human, the large gem smirked.

"So this is the illustrious Greg, the mighty human that won the affection of Rose Quartz." It was more of a statement of a fact then a question, a statement she seemed to be prodding at. "Here I was talked into thinking I would find some mighty Earth warrior but all that stands before is the puny human I initially thought I would find." Her smirk seemed to grow larger, and it seemed like she was trying to taunt him into doing something; so it took her by surprise when the action Greg took was to start laughing hysterically. 

"Earth warrior! Illustrious! HA!" Greg was starting to have trouble breathing, he was laughing so hard, he turned to Pearl, "What kind of stories have you been telling her?" He continued to laugh while Pearl blushed slightly before chuckling a little as well. 

"I just told her some of the things you've done, taking a bit of creators' license here and there." She said sheepishly, really, she felt like she had too just as another way to convince Jasper to live with Greg. 

After a good two minutes Greg was finally calming down from laughter, every bit of worrying or stress he felt about Jasper vanishing completely. 

"Here, follow me Jasper, I'll show you to your room." Still laughing a little he grabbed Jasper's hand and started guiding her towards the office of It's A Wash. Jasper was about to shake his hand off her but seeing as how he meant no harm decided to just let it be for now. 

"So, I decided that I should just close up shop for the winter a bit early so you could live a bit easier and also give me a bit of a break. I also went and put most of the office stuff inside in storage for now and make it a more suitable place to live in." He opened the door and let go of Jasper's hand so she could walk in. Jasper gave a quick look over at Pearl and Peridot, both motioning for her to go inside. With a small sigh she ducked her head and walked into the human building.

The first thing she noted is that it was a lot more spacious then it looked form the outside, a few plants here and there but most of the space was empty besides a desk shoved over into a corner and a couple mattress placed along the side of the wall adjacent to the window. 

"I didn't really know what you would want in your new place, I didn't really have anything to go off of for what your interests were, so I thought I would just leave it all empty and we can go shopping for whatever you need or want sometime later today or tomorrow."Greg said as he walked in himself, it was kind of funny to him that all the tension he felt has been lifted off his shoulders, don't get him wrong, he still finds Jasper slightly terrifying if only for the fact that she looks like she could demolish his entire building if she wanted to, but he didn't really feel threatened by her, it's strange honestly, he can't really put a finger on how he felt about the situation now, just that Jasper needs some help and he can provide it.

As Greg continued to walk around her new living space and point out different things Jasper really didn't care about, Jasper found herself lost in thought. Why was this insignificant human going out of his way to help her when they have never met, and even worse, was the friend to the Crystal Gems who she has repeatedly hurt and harassed? The lack of an answer frustrated her, unsure if this "Greg" had some hidden motive, or perhaps not all of those stories Pearl was blabbering on about were lies and he was just a kind person that would go out of his way to help others. What was it that Peridot said the other day, "help is just another way people show you they care."? Could this human really care about her? This thought brought along feelings Jasper didn't really understand, she could understand why Peridot cared for her, they have held a mutual respect for one another's skills and prowess for centuries, eventually becoming friends; Steven seemed to care about everyone and everything so he doesn't count; Her Diamond cared for her. She shook her head before going any further in that direction when all it would bring is bad memories and ideas. 

"Why are you doing this, why are you helping me?" Jasper said, surprised for the fact she said that out loud even if it was a mumble. 

"What was that?" Greg asked looking away from the desk drawer he was now digging through. 

Jasper quickly said nothing and Greg gave a shrug and returned to looking through various drawers. The large gem decided to back outside in hopes of escaping these thoughts. She was confused when she didn't see anyone else out there; did the others leave her with the human? She jumped when she heard a clattering noise over from the "van" as Pearl called it, scolding herself for flinching from some clatter.

"It's because Garnet hasn't let me go on any real missions yet, I've lost my edge." She reassured herself. She walked over to peak into the vehicle "Pearl, Peridot, you in there?" And there in fact was the small green gem scavenging through many different piles of whatever junk the human kept in his van; she pulled out a black shirt with a star in the middle inspecting it for a few seconds before smiling and wrapping it around her shoulder to hold onto for later. Jasper still didn't understand Peridot's obsession with Earth garments. 

"Oh hey Jasper, are you done talking with Greg? I was just looking at the various items in his collection of junk, you know, if he really tried I feel like he could give Amethyst a run for her money."

"Nah, just decided to get some fresh air... hey Peridot, do you think I could ask you a question." 

Peridot was surprised when Jasper said this, not only for the fact that Jasper was asking a question but because she seemed to get really quiet, as if something was troubling her. 

"Of course Jasp, you can ask me anything." 

"Is... is Greg always this nice and understanding of people?" This took Peridot by surprise, but she just gave a small smile, she knew Jasper felt like she didn't have that many people that actually cared about her, so Greg's thoughtfulness probably shocked her. 

"Ya, I've come to the conclusion that he is where Steven got his kindness from, in fact I once pushed him off a roof and he didn't even get upset." The little gem seemed to beam at this fact, as if also crediting it to her "undeniable lovableness" that the human stayed calm. 

"And does he expect something in return, some kind of favor?" Jasper pushed a little further, trying to figure out the motives of her new "roommate". 

Peridot seemed to mull this over, not answering for a few seconds (really she was just examining another shirt) before waving her hand in a nonchalant manner. 

"Not that I know of, he just seems to find enjoyment in helping people, ooooooh, this is a nice one." She tossed another shirt over her shoulder with a small nyehehe. 

Jasper didn't know what to make of this, sure gems did work for the good of all gem kind so the concept of help without reward wasn't new, but there was always an underlying feeling of fear, fear that you would do the job unsatisfactory, fear of disappointing those above your station, fear of what would happen if those things occurred. But what Greg was doing was different; he was helping anyone with anything, without thought of compensation or himself. Jasper didn't know why but these new thoughts brought back a very old feeling, one she hasn't really felt in a long time, and she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. She put those thoughts to the back of her mind for now, deciding she's had enough contemplation for one day. 

Just before she gets up she hears the sound of the door opening and notices Greg coming out of the building. 

"Hey, I was wondering where you went. So, did you like the place, did you think of anything you would like for me to go out and get?" He asked as he walked over to join the two gems at the van. "Oh hey, where did Pearl go?" 

Jasper was wondering that herself but forgot to ask. Peridot crawled out of the van, shirts in tow, and informed the two that she was called off by Garnet for some mission or something. 

"I see." Greg said, nodding his head. "Anyway, back to the main thing, do you think this place will be good enough to live in?" Greg asked, turning back to Jasper.

"I'll be fine, I'm a quartz warrior, I can live anywhere." Jasper said, her voice sounding angrier then she actually was, she noticed this and gave a slight cough. "Er, I mean, it's great. Thank you for doing all of this." She said, rubbing a hand through her hair. 

Greg just gave a big smile. "No problem at all, and remember, if you ever need anything or just someone to talk too, I'll be there, most likely in ma van." He let out a small chuckle, as he went to close his van doors. 

"Now I'm sure you two have better things to do then hang around with some old fart. In fact I think I promised Yellowtail I would go and check up on his boat soon, so I'll see you two around." 

"Yes, have fun with your nautical transportation vehicle Greg." Peridot said, as she slowly slid over to him, and whispered in his ear. "So would you mind if I requisitioned this pieces of clothing from your van, for scientific research of course." He gave a small chuckle looking at the multiple shirts she had, most of them were just the free ones he used to give out at gigs.

"Go ahead, Peridot, I have plenty. Do you also want a shirt Jasper, I'm sure I have at least one that would fit ya." Jasper just shrugged, not caring either way. Greg must have took this as a yes as he soon opened his van again and started digging through some old boxes, eventually finding what he was looking for, handing a large shirt with the words "Space Train to the Cosmos" on it to the orange gem. Jasper gave a small huff, and tossed it over her shoulder.

"Anyway, I really should be going, it was nice meeting you Jasper, and tell Lapis I said hi Peridot." He said as he started running towards the town. 

"He is probably the strangest individual I have ever met." Jasper said as Greg disappeared from view. 

"Yep! So do you want to go do something Jasper?" Peridot asked, stars still in her eyes as she went through all her new shirts. 

"No, it's about time I get you back to Lapis, if you're out with me any longer she might come smash my gem in jealousy." She snickered, even though a little part of her was scared that the ocean gem might actually go through with that. 

"Why would she get jealous over a clod like you?" Peridot laughed back. The two gems then proceeded to head to the barn, laughing and joking all the way there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the next chapter is finally posted. Sorry for the long wait, I ended up getting pretty sidetracked with other things. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, feedback is always appreciated, tells me whether or not I'm going in the right direction or driving off a cliff. Anyway thanks for reading, I'll try my best to get the next chapter all up and ready to be posted sooner then this one.


	3. Feelings, Tension, and Peri-Cuddles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some Lapidot you wonderful people you.

"Hey! Watch it you clod!" Peridot screeched as another branch nearly hit her on the gem. She was currently riding on top of Jasper's shoulder and narrowly dodging all the branches that the large gem brought her way. 

Jasper just laughed again and started making her way towards the next branch; she only stopped when she noticed the barn up ahead in the distance. Her body goes rigid and refuses to move another inch for a few seconds; she knows she should have nothing to be scared of, but the pure tension and awkwardness of being around Lapis makes her want to avoid the situation entirely. 

Peridot notices this, and hops down in front of her friend. 

"Are you ok Jas? I can go on ahead alone if you want; I know how you and Lapis prefer to avoid each other." Peridot looks a little crestfallen as she says this, she still wishes that her best friend and girlfriend would be able to get along but she also knows why that future friendship is a slim possibility. 

Jasper doesn't even look down at Peridot; she just waves a hand, plops herself on the ground and tells the green gem to give her a couple minutes. What she doesn't expect to be given is the next question.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jasper's sure that Peridot already knows why Lapis is determined to stay far away from her, and she understands too, but she never really told her friend why she herself was so adamant to stay away from the ocean gem recently. 

Jasper looks away, not sure if she really wants to go into this but when she turns her head back and see's the look in Peridots eyes, she gives in.

"After me and Lapis... defused from Malachite, I was broken. I felt weak, not wanted, and cast away, and I felt that the only way for me to stop feeling those things was to fuse again. It was slow at first, but over time I guess something in me just snapped, that want to fuse, to feel "whole" again became a need, and the only way to get it was to find Lapis and fuse again; in trying to do so I hurt a lot of people, especially Lapis." She paused for a moment, looking over at the barn just a little ways away from them, and sighed. 

"I don't know why, but after Steven saved me from corruption, my mind seemed to just clear up, I became me again and not some broken gem that needed some fix to feel right, complete, again. But Lapis, she hasn't healed as much as I have, she still has scars from those experiences, I know for a fact that it is because of you Peridot why she has healed as much as she has, but I also know that those scars are very easily reopened for her when I'm near. That's why I try my best to avoid her Peridot, why I'm scared to face her, not only because I don't want to reopen her scars but fear that maybe, I'm not as healed as I thought, and all those past scars might reopen for me as well." 

With those last words Jasper's voice gets quieter and her gaze falls to the ground. All Peridot can think to do is hug her friend, tell her that she'll be ok, and that she's there for her. Jasper grasps Peridots sides and holds her close, burying her head into her friends shoulder; she usually detests this feeling of weakness, but around the little gem she always seemed to feel better after letting her true feelings spill out. 

After what feels like a few hours of Peridot holding her, she pushes away her friend with a small laugh and wipes a small tear from her eye. 

"You know, Lapis might have a real reason to feel jealous if you keep holding me like this." 

"And why exactly, would I think some clod like you could take Peri away from me." A voice said, descending down upon the ground in front of them. Jasper instantly jumps back, and even though she'll wholeheartedly deny it, let out a shrill screech. 

Lapis gives a small smirk towards Jasper's display before heading over to Peridot. 

"But she is right Peri; I might just get jealous if you're going around cuddling other gems besides me." She says as she scoops Peridot up in her arms. 

"But you know you're the Percy to my Pierre Lapis." She says as she holds Lapis tightly, rubbing her head into the nook of the ocean gems neck. Lapis' face becomes speckled in a light blush, causing her to bury her face in Peridots hair. 

"Not in front of others Peri." She said, almost seeming to be whimper. This brought out a small snicker from the green gem; she always found it amusing with how flustered Lapis would get from displays of affection in front of others. 

Now recovered from her initial reaction, Jasper smiles at the two gems, and surprisingly, a chuckle also managed its way out of the large gem, both from seeing Lapis all flustered because of a cheesy line like that, and the fact that Peridot is apparently the flirt in the relationship. She decides to use this to her advantage and get out of there before the tension returns. 

"I see you later Peri, don't forget to show Lapis all those shirts you got once you're done smothering her with love." She said with a wave and a laugh.

"I'll never stop smothering my favorite gem with every ounce of affection I can produce." She shouted back, a groan of embarrassment from Lapis following right after. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peridot and Lapis were lounging in the bed of the truck, cuddling against one another and gazing up at the clouds. All the shirts Peridot tossed about on the floor of the barn, the soft sounds of Camp Pining Hearts reruns the only sound in the silent atmosphere until the green gem stirs. 

"You wouldn't actually get jealous of Jasper would you? I'm sorry to bring this up during cuddle time but it's been bothering me a bit." Lapis doesn't move, she just continues to stare up at the clouds. 

"Of course I wouldn't get jealous Peri... well; I guess I might get a little jealous." She turns and faces Peridot, brushing a hand through her girlfriends blond mane. "Before Jasper was around, I got to have you all to myself, but now that she's here, now that she's a part of our group; you've been with her a lot, and I don't get to see you as much, I guess I just miss the times when I was the only one you spent a lot of time with." Her voice saddens but she gives Peridot a small smile. 

"I'm sorry Laz, it's just, Jasper was the only friend I ever had before I came to Earth, and I just really want to help her you know?"

"I know, but sometimes my logic is overrun with my overwhelming urge to hold you tight and never let you go." Her grip on Peridot tightens, and her smile brightens. 

"Don't worry Lapis, the Great and Lovable Peridot will always be yours and yours alone." She breaks from the blue gems grasp. "But do you know what that means in return?" Lapis shakes her head. "It means that the Adorable and Lovely Lapis is mine and mine alone as well." And with that she starts giving many little kisses along the ocean gems face and neck. Lapis can only snort and laugh and giggle; she wraps her arms around Peridot's neck and starts peppering her in kisses as well until there both a giggling mess, wrapped up in one another, and forgetting about the rest of the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all these adorable little nerds, oh, and just a little canon stuff about this story: Peri's a huge flirt towards Lapis, Lapis get's extremely flustered if this happens in front of others, and both Lapis and Peridot really enjoying cuddling. 
> 
> Also, the next chapter is going to be pretty big (in terms of importance, size-wise, probably longer then most of my chapters but not sure if it can still be considered as "long".)and I want to make sure it turns out really well, so it might be a while before the next chapter is posted.


	4. The First Date?

            "I don't think you understand human, gems do not require anything so this "shopping" is unnecessary." Jasper said for probably the hundredth time, Greg just shrugged before giving the same response.

            "And I know that you have to have some type of interest or hobby, with a body like that I'm fairly confident you don't just sit around all day waiting to go on missions. You **_have_** to like something, so let's just walk around a couple stores and see if there's anything that catches your eye."

            Jasper let out huff, wanting to just hurry and get this over with, the human obviously not understanding she neither needs nor wants anything such a primitive society could offer her. She still doesn't understand why Greg is insisting on getting her things, it's not like she can do anything for him in return.  

            Jasper breaks from her thoughts when she realizes that the two of them have not only stopped but Greg was staring up at her, asking her questions.

            "- most likely have to take good care of it." He looked up at her while holding some object. Greg noticed the stare at the hair brush he was holding and Jasper's confused expression.

            "Do gems not have to brush or take care of their hair?"

            "Hm? Of course we do, my hair is a symbol of pride and skill, and I make sure it is always well maintained." She scoffed at the dumb question. "Is that what that tool is for?"

            "Yep, it's for brushing hair, here let me show you." He then walked behind her and before she could even respond he started dragging the brush through her hair. She wished she could deny how nice the action felt, but it was so relaxing she felt like she almost started purring. Greg eventually poked his head around while maintaining constant brush strokes.

            "I'm guessing you like it then." He asked smiling. Jasper blushed in embarrassment and quickly turned her head away from the human.

            "It's ok I guess, it serves a purpose." She did her best to sound neutral.

            "Great, that's at least one thing so we're making progress. I'll also grab some other things like hair ties and some hair products in case you ever want to use them."

            Jasper didn't know what any if those things were, she assumes just more unnecessary things, so she just shrugged, wanting to get this done and over with before she actually does do something humiliating.

            Greg went and purchased the hair products and then took Jaspers hand and led her to the next store, Jasper didn't know why, but holding his hand made her feel a little warm inside, what was it about this human that made her feel all these different emotions.         

            She went back to her thoughts as Greg dragged her around various stores and markets, pointing at things to get, making jokes, laughing, explaining things he felt Jasper didn't understand, and the entire time, a bright smile covered his face. Why did he have to be doing that all the time, always smiling and helping her, making her feel all weird inside and bringing back unwanted memories.    

            They made stops here and there, picked out some more things Greg felt like Jasper would enjoy, they even stopped over at a fitness store and grabbed some exercise equipment, Jasper ended up having to carry those things due to the fact that when Greg went to lift up some of the weights he nearly broke his back.

            "And here I thought I still had some powder in these guns." he said, flexing in front of Jasper. This actually caught her by surprise and she snorted.

            "Please, if those are guns, then these are energy cannons." She dropped the weights on the ground and flexed her arms, showing off her huge muscles. Greg laughs and agrees that Jasper is in much better shape than he is.

            "Maybe I should make you participate in my training regimes while we live together then, I'll make you into the Earth warrior Pearl made you out to be."

            "I might just have to take you up on that offer, but maybe just to the point of Beach buff." He flexed again and started laughing, and Jasper was surprised to find she was laughing too, all the negative things she's been feeling today thrown to the ground like the weights.      

            After a minute or two she smiled and picked up the equipment. "All right strong man, I'm sure there's still plenty of places you intended on dragging me to, let's get going."

            "Right, guess that's enough of a gun show for one day. Let's see-" He pulled out a list from his pocket. "The next stop is... ah, looking for decor for your room."

            "What is "de-core?"

            "Just stuff like paintings or plants, they don't really have a purpose, their just things you put in your room because you think it looks nice."

            "Well if they serve no purpose then there is no point in getting any of this de-core."

            "Well, we didn't know you needed a brush until we spotted it, plus it never hurts to window-shop. Not to mention I'm having a lot of fun doing this with you, I haven't gone out and actually had a day for things like this in a while... it's nice." He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck.

            Jasper didn't know what to say to that, the fact that he enjoys her company shocks her but what surprises her even more is that she's actually been enjoying herself quite a bit today too, who would have thought this little human would be able to make her laugh. She eventually smiled and held out her hand, deciding that maybe today wasn't so bad. Greg stared at it for a few seconds in confusion before a spark of realization sweeps his face and replaces it with a big smile. He grabs her hand and leads her to the next store.

            They continued to shop around, grabbing things here and there, going back to his van and storing whatever they had on hand at the time into the back of the vehicle. Jasper wasn't about to admit it but she did enjoy this "window-shopping" as Greg put it. Seeing all the needless things that humans have made just because they feel it looks nice was interesting. At one point she spotted a large striped animal and went over to examine it, once she was closer she found that it was actually fake, just a stuffed representation.

            Greg noticed this sudden interest in the stuffed animal and chuckled, who would have thought that Jasper was into cuddly things. He never would have guessed that Jasper was more than just some large, intimidating gem; that she actually has many different sides that you can't really see at first, but it only took one day with her to prove that theory wrong. He went over to the cashier as Jasper hunched over the tiger, petting and prodding it. He talked a little to the man behind the counter and eventually handing him a twenty.

            Jasper was in the middle of dragging her hand along the "fur" of the stuffed animal when some human just came and picked it up. She was about to get up and yell at this ignorant human but before she could say anything the tiger was now in her arms and Greg was in front of her with a smirk.

            "Not intrested in needless things huh?" A blush spread itself along the orange gem's face and she quickly covered it with the animal.

            "I was just interested in its stripes, that's all; now that it's been inspected you can return it to that tiny human." She shoved the tiger in front of her with a humph, motioning for Greg to take it.

            "Well there's no need to return it anymore, I already talked to the shop keep and bought it, it's yours now." He pushed the tiger softly back into her arms, feeling a small shock as his fingers grazed hers.  He quickly retreats in the form of grabbing their things, making his way towards the door.

            "A-anyway, let's get all this back to the van, and then check around a few more places just in case anything else needs "inspection"." He said with a laugh, trying to throw away the sudden feeling of... whatever this was, with some humor, and it mostly seemed to work.

            Jasper stood there for a few seconds holding the tiger against her chest and staring at it, not sure how to respond. Greg slowly walked back up to her and hesitantly grabbed her hand again; unsure as to why this was bothering him now even though they've been doing this all day. Jasper slowly took it, wrapping her fingers around the human's smaller hand while also tightly gripping her tiger. Making their way out of the store, both of them looked towards the sky with large smiles on their faces and strange emotions bubbling around inside them yet neither knew why.

 

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            "I hope Jasper and dad are getting along by now."

            "I'm sure they are Steven, Greg seems to be able to tolerate anyone and I feel confident that Jaspers truly turned a new leaf." Pearl said, rustling Steven's hair.

            Steven, Pearl, and Garnet were walking over to Greg's place, hoping to find the two new housemates getting along. What they came upon seemed to be the exact opposite. Greg was lying on the ground, flat on his back and holding his head while Jasper was looming over him, her helmet disappearing with a flash.

            Pearl instinctively grabbed Stevens's hand, pulling him towards her; she didn't know what was going on but it probably wasn't good. Next to them, the fusion seemed to be twitching and mumbling under her breath. 

            "I knew she couldn't be trusted." Before anyone could react, Garnets fists glew, forming her gauntlets,  and she lunged at the large gem.

            Everything that came after happened so quickly no one had any real time to react. Jasper's smile faded and quickly turned to a yelp as Greg, who could see the angry gem charging in their direction, leaped up and shoved Jasper out of the way, taking the punch instead; Garnet, who wasn't prepared for Greg to suddenly leap in the way, had only enough time to pull the punch a little, still enough to send the human flying but not enough to be fatal. Jasper, who was now lying on the ground, could only watch in teror as Greg's body landed a few yards away with a loud thump and a pained groan echoing through the air. Pearl let out a gasp, clutching Steven's hand even tighter, stopping him from running over towards the scene. 

            "DA-"

            "GREG!"        

            Jasper made her way over to his body as quick as she could, cradling his body in her arms. She whipped her head over towards the others, "What are you waiting for, help him!" This broke Pearl out of her state of shock and she swiftly made her way over towards Greg, Steven tailing right behind. She tried to examine his body as quickly as possible without risk of hurting him even more. After what seemed like eons for Jasper, she felt a rush of relief spread throughout her gem when Pearl looked at her and smiled.

            "He's alive, hurt, but alive. He's surprisingly ok after a punch like that, not a single broken bone or anything, he'll have quite the bruise and will have to relax and not get up too much for a day or two, but he should be fine." Steven clung onto Pearl and gave a muffled gasp of joy while Jasper just sat there, Greg lying in her arms and, to everyone's surprise, tears rolling down her face.  

            "Why do you keep doing these stupid things, why do you keep helping me, why do you think I deserve this kindness?" She cried in muffled sobs, it was rare for her to display her heart on her sleeve like this but she didn't care, the only thing she could think about was the human in her arms and the gem he resembled. Her cries were stopped when she felt a hand brush away the tears from her face.

            "Why are you crying like I've gone and kicked the bucket, come on, aren't you supposed to be some big strong quartz?" He slowly sat up with a groan, the pain in his gut and back starting to die down, but what was still there ached terribly.

            "Don't move too quickly or too much now Greg, you may not have any visible injuries but your insides are still pretty damaged. Now I'll leave you here with Jasper and Steven while I head back to the temple and get some proper medical equipment."

            "It's ok Pearl, I have a first aid kit * ACHCHH * in * ahmm * my van... you can just use that." Greg eventually said, a coughing fit seizing his body midsentence causing Jasper to tighten her grip on the human and give Pearl a look to hurry it up. Pearl nodded her head and rushed over to his van but not before catching something in the back of her eyes.

            Garnet was now rolling around on the ground, hands clutching her head, and mumbled words coming from her lips. Steven apparently noticed this too as he was now running over to the fusions side; Pearl decided to let Steven take care of that situation and turned to shout over to Jasper.

            "Do you think you could bring him over here and lay him down, _gently_ , in the van so I can more easily treat his injuries?"  

            Jasper gave a quick nod and slowly wrapped Greg in her arms, carrying him as if she was treating a being made of glass that could shatter if she so much as breathed too hard, before carefully placing him on a mattress in the back of the van. Pearl began applying some bandages and other human things that Jasper couldn't even guess they were for; "as long as they fix the human." she thought. Meanwhile, Steven was crouching over the convulsing gem over on the other side of the parking lot.

            "Why couldn't you just listen to me Ruby, I told you not to attack her."  
            "What else was I supposed to do; it looked like she was attacking Greg!"

            "You could have been calm and listened to me, it's been months now and your still holding a grudge, and now you've gone and finally hurt someone, are you happy?!"

            "No! Of course I'm not happy, do you think I wanted to hurt Greg?!"

            "I think you just wanted an excuse to go and punch Jasper!"

            This seemed to be a breaking point for Garnet as her form was soon enveloped with a bright light and two gems quickly burst away from each other.

            Steven recoiled in surprise, he doesn't think he's ever seen Garnet defuse like that. He breaks from his thoughts, quickly running over to the nearest gem, Sapphire, and helping her up.

            "Are you two ok, what happened, why did you attack Jasper and Dad?" Questions poured out of him like a waterfall, Sapphire just held up a finger.

            "We're fine Steven, Ruby just did something stupid and now she needs some time alone to cool off. I'm going to go see if Greg is ok, do you think you can watch over Ruby and make sure she doesn't go and set something on fire again?" Sapphire said calmly yet an icy tone seeming to creep into her voice. Steven looked unsure and a little scared, Sapphire seemed even more upset then she was back at the motel, but he gave her a small nod causing her to smile before heading over to join the others at the van.

            Ruby was still lying on the ground, one hand covering her face while the other was punching the ground. Steven carefully approached the fire gem, not wanting to upset her any further.

            "Are you ok Ruby?" He asked while holding out his hand. Ruby sniffled and wiped away her face before looking up at Steven.

            "I'll be fine, is Greg ok?" Honestly she was just pretty upset with herself, she knows Sapphy's right but whenever she see's Jasper she just remembers all the horrible stuff she did to them and her heads gets all hazy and it gets hard for her to control the urge to go and smash her gem, right then and there.

            "Pearl says he should be fine with a few days of rest and not moving around too much." Steven said, deciding to join Ruby on the ground, staring up at the sky along with her; the usual hotheaded gem seemed like she just needed some time to relax.

            "That's good.... I'm sorry you had to see us, me, do that, I just... I just can't seem to control myself when I see Jasper; she just hurt us so much you know, and, when it looked like she was hurting Greg, I just snapped... I hope you guys can forgive me." She gazed over into Stevens eyes, looking for any type of solace.

            "Of course I can forgive you, but you should probably be saying all this to someone else."

            "I know, but I don't think I can face any of them right now, not yet anyway. I think I should just head back to the temple and clear my mind; can you tell the others for me?"

            "Sure Ruby, and don't worry, I know dad'll forgive you." Ruby gave him a small smile before sighing.

            "But that still leaves two other gems that I'm not as sure about." She said before pushing herself up off the ground. She waved goodbye to Steven and started heading back to the temple, ready to take Sapphires advice to cool off.

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            Everyone else over at the van seemed to be feeling a lot better once Steven ventured over. Greg was cracking jokes with Sapphire while Pearl kept doing various check-ups and double check-ups on Greg, making sure that he would make a full and speedy recovery. Everyone seemed fine that is, except for Jasper. The large gem was now sitting outside the van, leaning against its side; she didn't look upset anymore but she also didn't look happy. She seemed to be mulling over something quite serious and Steven was unsure on whether or not to approach her or not, in the end though he knew Jasper might need some help so he walked over to where she was sitting and plopped down in front of her.

            Jasper didn't even notice the young gem sit down in front of her, so wrapped up in her own thoughts, staring at the moon that was starting to make its way up into the sky. Her mind being flooded with memories of a long lost love, of her Diamond; she recalled all the years she served in Pink Diamonds court, all the things Pink Diamond did for her, the way she treated her, like she was more than just a soldier. Pink Diamond was the first, and what she thought would be the only, person she would ever truly love. Someone she would be willing to sacrifice herself again and again just to keep them safe. Someone that made her feel truly wanted, truly cared for, truly loved. But now this human has come into her life, this Greg, and has made all these thoughts she's pushed away, tried to forgot, and caused them to resurface; not because she felt angry, felt the need for revenge, but because this puny human is making her feel the exact same way, and she doesn't know how to deal with this. It's strange really; she's only known him for two days and yet already has the urge to protect him, to be his guardian, his Jasper. She never thought she would ever devote herself to someone again like she did to Pink Diamond, but then again, she never thought she would do a lot of things she's done ever since she came to Earth.

            She let out a long and heavy sigh as she brought her gaze back down from the sky, only to see Steven sitting in front of her and staring at her attentively.

            "Do you need something little quartz?" Not particularly fazed by his actions, she's become accustomed to the young gem's strange actions.

            "Are you feeling ok Jasper, is this about what Garnet did." He looked up into her eyes, genuine care coming from his own. Jasper's gaze quickly looks over at where Greg was sitting; Sapphire was apparently helping his injuries now with her ice powers, placing a hand on where he was punched. Her gaze didn't linger long however, she soon brought her attention back to Steven. She didn't really feel comfortable telling him what she was really feeling; stars knows she wasn't terribly comfortable telling herself what she was feeling, so she just ruffled his hair and faked a smile.

            "I'm fine runt, still a little miffed that the fusion decided to attack me without notice or reason; but I talked a little with Sapphire, she told me how Ruby was holding a little grudge over the stuff I did in the past, and she just couldn't hold back her anger anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty upset with the runt, but I can at least see where she was coming from." Steven stared up at her; looking unsure for a few seconds but gradually smiling.

            "Alright, and whenever you feel comfortable with it, I think Ruby really wants to apologize."

            "I'm fine Steven, the person Ruby should talk to is Greg, **_HE_** is the one that got punched after all." Both of them took a quick look over at Greg, he was holding the spot where he was punched, a tinge of pain crossing his face, but soon smiled and started talking loudly and happily as if nothing was wrong. He saw the two of them looking over at him and motioned for them to join him and the others. Steven quickly bounded his way over, while Jasper got up slowly, looking back up at the moon one more time, before she turned and made her way over to the rest of the group. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's chapter 4, sorry it was so late but schools been kicking my butt lately. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you could, please leave comments, this is an important chapter and I'm not sure if it needs some revisions or not, I wholeheartedly welcome constructive criticism. Or if you just have a question or something about the story or characters, feel free to ask, as long as it doesn't spoil the story I'd be happy to answer. 
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> Edit: So I think I'm going to have to take back my promise to upload the next chapter sooner, the workloads been piling up and up and I need to focus on getting everything done, so I'm going to still try to get chapters uploaded within a week or two of each other but for now, I have to put writing this lower on the priority sheet, sorry.


	5. Apologies and Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, chapter five. But before the chapter begins, I just wanted to say thank you to all of you reading this story, the fact that you all are enjoying this makes me so happy. I feel like I'm slowly becoming a better writer and it's in part, thanks to all of you and your support, and I just want to say thank you for putting up with these slow updates and for all the comments and kudos and views, it means a lot. So thank you.

             It was the next morning; a cool wind blew softly along the waves, overlooked by a shimmering sunrise. Ruby absorbed herself into the sight, she forget how different it felt seeing things with her own eyes, it was nice. So invested in the scenery she barely noticed the faint sounds of footsteps approaching her. A small purple gem plopped herself down next to the fire gem, not making an attempt at conversation the two just watched the sun rise over the empty waves in blissful silence.

            After some time passed Amethyst made a move to leave, but Ruby grabbed her arm and gave her a look; Amethyst just smiled and sat back down.

            "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

            "Not really."

            "Do you want to just talk?" The smaller gem gave a slight nod before burying her head into her knees, not lifting her head until she felt a hand run down her back.

            "You're going to be ok Ruby, Steven filled me in on everything and I can assure you that everyone will forgive you, just give it some time." 

            "That's what Steven said too but I don't think Jasper or Sapphire will ever forgive me, I really messed up Amethyst." She buried her head back into her knees, muffled sniffling the only sound until Amethyst tried to console her friend.

            "Look, I know for sure Sapphire will forgive you eventually, I don't even need future vision for that; and I know you haven't really seen the good parts of Jasper yet but she's actually really cool, I'm sure if you just go over and apologize to her, she'll forgive ya."

            "Do you think you could go and talk to her for me, you guys get along really well right?"

            "I don't think that would go over to well, Jasper would probably think even less of you if you cowered out of an apology, but I can go with you and be your back up if you want."

            Ruby lifted her head and rubbed a hand over her eye and gave Amethyst a big smile. "Alright."

            ""But we can do that later, for now, let's just kick back and stare at the sky."

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            A ray of light made its way through Jaspers blinders and cascaded over her face, bleary eyes blinked, adjusting to the morning sun. She wondered where she was, the room seeming unfamiliar at first, that is until she heard a faint snoring and looked down to find the human Greg lying near her on a new mattress laid out adjacent to hers. All the memories of the previous day rushed through her mind, and a small smile grew.

            Her gaze wondered over towards an earth animal, one Greg calls a "tiger". It was neatly placed on top of one of her pillows; it almost seemed to be sleeping as soundly as the human that gave it to her.

            She looked back over towards said human, her feelings still jumbled and confusing. On one hand, he is just a human, a member of a dull species with finite life-spans; he is just a small human who serves no purpose... yet he makes her feel happy... he makes her feel wanted. That was what was causing this whole mess in the first place, how nice he seemed to be, how willing he was to go out of his way for her.

            Even for a gem her age, she could only think of a few individuals that actually seemed to generally care for her: Obviously there was Peridot, the gem she would easily consider to be her best friend, even if she could be incredibly annoying. There was her original commander, another Jasper; she respected her tremendously; her commander would always put her soldiers first, and her life second, sadly she was crushed during the rebellion. And then there was Pink Diamond, her Diamond; it didn't matter what gem you were or where you came from, Pink Diamond would love you all the same. She treated every gem with equal respect and kindness, and all she asked in return was that you do the same, she was the only Diamond to push for harmony amongst all gems, she wished for a day where gems like Peridot and Lapis Lazuli could fall in love without fear of being shattered. She was loving, brilliant, brave... she was perfect... and she is gone.

            Greg woke up to the faint sound of sniffling. His mind quickly broke free from the dull state one normally has after waking, quickly glancing over at Jasper, who was now lying on her side and facing the wall, the stuffed tiger being held tightly against her chest. Seeing her in this state, this gem he saw as the persona of strength and power, to look so broken and vulnerable, it broke his heart.

            He slowly got up, careful, not only to stay silent but also to not aggravate yesterdays injuries. He made his way over to Jasper, sitting softly on her mattress; not sure what to do, his body just moved instinctively, one hand rubbed slowly and caressingly along her back, soft murmurings of it'll be alright and I'm here made its way from his lips. Time passed by these two and the bright yellow morning soon turned into a mellow afternoon sky.  

 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

            "Are you sure Greg will forgive me? I hurt him pretty bad, and even though Steven told me he'll be fine, I was the one who punched him, I know how hard he got hit."

            "Oh Greg's always been a softy, on the inside and out, I'm sure if you talk to him and explain why everything went down the way it did, he'd be more than willing to forgive you." Amethyst gave Ruby a big smile, which brought the red gem some comfort until she recalled the other person they were heading over to talk to.

            "Ok, but what about Jasper?" Her voice was quit, and Amethyst couldn't remember another time where Ruby seemed so small, so frightened of her actions. Every time she recalled seeing her, the small gem always seemed so boisterous and strong, but not now, and it pained her to see her friend like this.

            "Gotta say the same advice man, explain to Jasper why you did what you did, and show her how sorry you are, and even if she doesn't forgive you now, I'm sure she'll accept your apology over time. Plus she's my sis; I'll put in a good word for ya." Amethyst tried to win back the worried gems smile, and it worked, Ruby looked over to her with slight hope in her eyes and a smile that said thank you.

            The rest of the walk to" It's A Wash" was filled with chuckles and laughter, Amethyst telling Ruby some stories about her adventures with Lapis and Peridot over at the barn. Currently she was talking about a meep-morp the three were making together. Peridot likes to say it's a physical representation of the burden that society can put atop your shoulders as well as the image of the mountain society wishes you to climb if you want to make it anywhere; really it was just another stack of junk like the ones in Amethysts room, but with the added flair of junk from Peri and Lapis' collection.

            As they neared Greg's place it seemed to them that the place was empty and when Amethyst threw open the doors to the van, she was surprised to find it lacking its usual inhabitant. Guessing that both Greg and Jasper must be in Jaspers new place, Amethyst did an eccentric bow, motioning for Ruby to open the door.

            "I don't know Amethyst, the lights are off, what if their sleeping or busy, or not here, maybe we should come back another time."

            "Come on Ruby, the longer it takes you to apologize the worse it's going to get." She said while giving the fire gem a look that said get on with it, Ruby looked back and forth between Amethyst and the door before giving in and letting out a long heavy sigh.

            "Ok, ok, you're right."

            And with her last attempt to get out of there countered, Ruby hesitantly opened the door, to only quickly bring it shut once more.

            "Oh come on Ruby, your making this whole thing out to be worse than it actually is."

            "It's not that Amethyst, it's just... I didn't want to disturb them."

            "What do you mean disturb them, it's like four in the afternoon, neither of them would be asleep right now." Amethyst pushed past Ruby to reopen the door and was really not expecting the sight now laid out in front of her.

            There was Jasper, lying down on her bed with a stuffed animal snuggled tightly under her arms, and there was Greg, lying next to her, one arm draped around the massive gems torso, a light snoring could be heard from both of them.

            Not knowing what to do, Amethyst just kind of stood there in shock. Pearl did say that Jasper and Greg seemed to be getting along pretty well, and Greg did save Jasper from Garnets attack, but she didn't think their relationship had gotten this far. A small part of her was pretty happy for the two, but now that her shock has worn off, the larger more mischievous side of her took control. Ruby watched as Amethyst came back outside and started rummaging around Greg's van until she pulled out what seemed to be an old camera. She then proceeded to go back to the open doorway and knock on the door, **_loudly_**.

            Greg was the first to get up, groggily rubbing his eyes, but before he could go see who was knocking, Jasper languidly grabbed him and pulled Greg back towards her, cuddling him along with the tiger. Greg's face became as red as beet, extremely flustered and embarrassed, and no matter how much he tried to break free from the large gem, he was held tight by her iron snuggles. Amethyst was snapping up picture after picture at this point, her laughter bouncing throughout the room causing Jasper to slowly wake, and soon the large quartz was staring at Amethyst with a mix of annoyance and embarrassment. She quickly let go of Greg and almost jumped off the bed, leaving Greg to fall back onto her bed with a groan. Jasper rushed over towards Amethyst and snatched the camera from her hands.  

            "Do you need something runt?" She snarled, not really angry, mainly she was just trying to hide the fact that her face was still in a full blush.

            "Well, I was bringing Ruby here to sit down and have a talk with you guys about yesterday, but, well, I couldn't help but notice how comfortable the two of you were, and I, acting as any sister should, took as many photos as I could." Amethyst finished with a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face.

            "Right, the other runt, well if she's here to apologize, Greg is right over there, and since I'm awake, I think I'll go train outside." And with that, Jasper left with a huff. Amethyst walked over to Ruby and placed a hand on her shoulder, whispering you'll be fine, before heading out to join Jasper.

            Ruby just ambled around sheepishly, not really sure where to stand. Greg, now sitting upright against the wall, patted a hand down on the mattress, and Ruby slowly set herself down on the bedding. After a few seconds of silence, Greg was the first to talk.

            "So I assume you're here to talk about yesterday?" Ruby nodded her head, avoiding all eye contact.

            "Look, I understand, really I do. Sometimes our emotions get the better of us, and sometimes we do things we regret, but if you really try, you can mend the problem. So don't beat yourself up about what happened yesterday."

            "But I did something stupid and you got hurt because of it!"

            "And I'll be fine; it'll take more than a punch to knock me out."

            "Still, I need to apologize for what I did." Ruby's voice seemed to gain some strength as she said this. "I let my anger take control of me yesterday, and because of that, you got injured, and I am really really sorry... I understand if you don't forgive me." After a moment's pause, Greg's laughter began to fill the room causing all of Ruby's newfound strength to vanish and her shoulders to sink.

            "You know, sometimes I forget you gems are thousands of years older than me." He looked over at the saddened gem, immediately regretting his laughter. "Aw, I wasn't laughing at ya Ruby, come here, I'll forgive you." He held out his arms and motioned the small gem to come in for a hug. Ruby hesitantly obliged, but then welcomed the new sense of comfort.  

            "But not after I get some revenge noogies!" Greg shouted, quickly rubbing Ruby's hair with his hand. Soon the room was once again filled with laughter, this time from both Ruby and Greg, and almost every bit of fear Ruby felt melted away in that moment.

 

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

            The back of Greg's van sunk down as Jasper plopped herself on its edge, Amethyst hopping onto the spot next to her.

            "So... I was going to ask if you were doing ok after yesterday but from what I saw, you must be feeling pretty good right now huh." Amethyst smiled, nudging Jaspers side with her elbow. Jasper's face turned redder then it already was, she looked away from her friend with a huff.

            "It's not what you think."

            "Then please do tell, I'm in need of some new gossip to share with big V."

            "I wasn't feeling too good, Greg started comforting me, and I guess overtime we both just fell asleep, I don't really want to talk about it." She looked at the smaller gem, a small frown telling Amethyst to not continue this train of conversation.

            "That's fine." She paused, not really sure what to say next. "I'm going to need to go binge watch some tv with Peri and Laz after all this." She thought to herself.

            "So, Ruby's, like, really sorry you know; and she really regrets what she did." This caught Jaspers attention, her face returning to a more neutral expression.

            "I know, I can't really blame her for hating me after all I did to you guys, honestly I'm surprised she didn't try to smash me sooner."

            "Heh, that was probably Sapphire holding her back."

            "How is she anyway, she seemed pretty upset with Ruby yesterday, I'm guessing that's why they're not back to their usual fused self yet?"

            "Eh, I'm not sure, I just found out about most of this stuff last night; Sapphire just kinda shut herself in her room before I got back and Ruby seemed like she wanted to be alone for a while." Amethyst said with a shrug.

            Neither really talked after that, favoring the silence that took over; it wasn't until laughter could be overheard did noise return to the area. Amethyst grinned, happy that at least one apology seemed to go well for her friend.

            "I guess Greg forgave Ruby for the gut punch." Jaspers didn't respond, instead only staring hard at the door of her room, listening to the boisterous laughter and giggling coming from inside.

            "Wonder what they're doing in there; think I should bust out the camera again?" Amethyst poked Jasper playfully, trying to get her attention, when that failed she started waving her hand in front of the large gems face.

            "Hello? Earth to Jasper? You still with me bud?" She started to clamber on top of Jasper, snapping her fingers in front of the large gems face. She didn't stop until Jasper lightly pushed her onto the ground.

            "Hey! What was that for?!" She yelled, but was soon laughing when Jasper's eyes softened and the Orange gem started chuckling at the fallen gem. Soon their laughter was echoing across the parking lot as well. Jasper put out a hand to help Amethyst back up onto the van.

            "Come on you clod, why don't we go see how the other two clods are doing?"

            "Heh, looks like Peri's been rubbing off on ya huh?" She grabbed Jaspers hand and was soon pulled back onto her feet. "Right, I guess we should check in on them. Ruby still owes you an explanation after all."

            "I'll be fine; Greg's the one that got hurt, so if he forgives her... I forgive her, even if she is some hot headed runt." And as Jasper and Amethyst walked back into the building, Amethyst immediately joined in on the Ruby noogies, soon turning it into a little wrestling match; Greg soon decided he's had enough exercise for the day and backed off to the side, joining Jasper in overlooking the scene before them.

            "So you forgave her huh?"  Greg gave a light chuckle as he ran a hand over his stomach.

            "Yep. I'm not one to hold a grudge, and I knew she didn't really mean to do it; sometimes you just can't control how you feel you know? How about you, have you forgiven her?"

            "Ya, I think I have. Honestly I think I was more upset that you got hurt than me being attacked." She said the last part softer, rubbing a hand through her hair as she did so.

            "So does that mean you've warmed up to me then?" A smile widening on his face as he looked up at her. Jasper looked down at him, returning his smile with her own.

            "I don't know what it is about Earth making me do ridiculous things but yes, I think I have." The two stared at one another, light blushes creeping along their cheeks, a strange feeling, though not new, was shared between the gem and the human and neither knew what to do.

            The moment was then tossed aside when a crash was heard, both Greg and Jasper turned to see Ruby frantically picking up shards of what used to be a flower pot, and Amethyst was lying on the ground with a couple of Tiger Lilies and a pile of dirt laying atop her face. Greg rushed over to help Amethyst and Ruby while Jasper stood there staring, still stuck in the previous moment, a whisper, almost inaudible creeping past her lips.

            "I don't know what is about you making me feel these ridiculous things, but I think I feel whole again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. If you have anything you would like to ask, or any comments at all please leave them below. My workload seems to have lightened up so I may be able to post newer chapters faster, so fingers crossed it stays that way.


	6. Confessions

             Nothing really happened after Greg got everything cleaned up; Ruby and Amethyst decided they should head out right after and Greg said he had some errands to do in town leaving Jasper alone. Not having anything better to do and wanting to distract herself away from the thoughts that have been plaguing her recently, she decided to take her mind of with some training. She tried out all the exercise equipment Greg had gotten her, and to her surprise, they actually seemed to make her break a sweat, turns out these humans _can_ make some useful things after all. An hour or two passes, Jasper doesn't pay too much attention to the time, instead focusing on her training; it isn't until she hears a knock on the door that she stops.

            She drops the current weights she was using to the floor, flinching when she hears the loud thump as it hits the ground, hopefully it didn't break anything, a quick glance at the wood floorboards, no cracks seem to have formed, that's good.

            She tenses up when she opens the door, not expecting to find Garnet standing in front of her. She tries to match Garnets standard stoic expression, but a small part of her is expecting another attack to occur.

            "Greg's not currently here right now, said he had some stuff to do in town." She can feel the fusions stare from behind her shades.

            "I know, can I come in?" Jasper gives her a cautious glare before letting out a small huff.

            "Fine, try not to break anything." She held the door open to let Garnet in, watching the other gem carefully, still unsure about her.

            "So what do you want?" Jasper asked, wanting to hurry and get to the point, did Garnet want to try to fight her again or did she actually need something.

            The red gem didn't respond for a while, instead gazing around the room, seeming to give a little nod of approval before turning back to Jasper.

            "I came to apologize for my actions the other day; I wasn't myself and I let my emotions take control." The sudden change in Garnets tone took Jasper by surprise, not expecting an actual apology from the usually deadpan gem.

            "It's fine, you have the little fire runt in ya, didn't she tell you I already accepted the apology?" It came out harsher the she meant too but she was still slightly upset about the whole thing. Garnets expression actually seemed to soften at this.

            "She did, but I am not Ruby and Ruby is not me, so I came to apologize for my actions and hope that after all this we could perhaps get along from now on." Jasper kept up her glare but could tell from her tone that Garnet meant what she said; she relented eventually, crossing her arms together and looking away from the other gem.

            "I guess we can get along, just try not to hurt Greg anymore ok?" A smile formed on the fusions face, a small chuckle escaping her lips. 

            "Deal, and now that that's finished I would like to officially invite you to go on your first mission as a Crystal Gem, that is, if you think you can handle it."

            Jaspers head spun to face Garnet, a look of shock on her face. She's never got to actually go on any mission yet, Garnet would always say not yet, not until we know she can be trusted. She tried to hide her excitement but it was pretty hard to not be happy, finally a chance for some real training, a real assignment.

            "Oh I can handle anything you throw at me; the real question is if you can keep up." She replied with a smirk.           

            "That's what I like to hear, but we should head out now if we want to actually catch the corrupted gem."

            "Alright, let's do this!" She clapped, already pumped for her first mission, following Garnet out the door and towards the temple.

                                                _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

            Greg felt bad about lying to Jasper but he really needed some fresh air and time alone to mull over these sudden feelings of his. Not even sure where he was going, Greg just decided a walk down the beach would do him some good. He glanced up at the sky, nightfall soon approaching causing the moonlight to dance upon the waves; it was a beautiful sight, one he'd like to share with Jasper.

            He quickly tried to shake that thought out of his head, a blush tinting his cheeks. This was exactly why he felt like he needed to take this walk; he knows these feelings all too well; he was falling in love again.

            It's as if fate has decided that he would only fall in love with big, strong alien warriors. His thoughts were starting to become a jumbled mess of feelings.

            "How could I have fallen in love so fast though, I've only known her for a few days?"

            "But I fell in love with Rose almost instantly too, this is actually quite the improvement time-wise."

            "Speaking of Rose, how could I even think of falling in love again? Is it too soon to move on, can I ever truly move on?"

            "I really need some help right now, maybe I should go talk to Vidalia or..."

            "Hey dad, I didn't know you were coming over tonight!" Greg turned to find Steven waving at him while running down the beach. When did he get to the Temple?

            "O-oh, ya, I just thought I would stop by for a visit, see how my favorite kid's doing." He pushed his previous thoughts to the side for now; Steven definitely did not need to know about this.

            Steven rushed over to him, wrapping him in a large hug; Pearl stood in the distance, many bags sitting next to her, and waved softly at him.

            "Well I wish I knew in advance, I would have made some tea."

            "Oh that's fine, I'm not really in the mood for anything anyway, so what are you guys up too?" He asked as Steven started pulling towards the Temple.

            "Me and Pearl went shopping to pick up some things and when we get back, we're going to finish working on a real big puzzle of dogcopter." He spread his arms out wide to show how big the puzzle truly was, a look of pride and achievement spread out on his features, Greg's worries momentarily forgotten as he smiled and ruffled Steven's hair.

            "Good on ya Stu-ball, but why don't we continue this talk inside, it's getting pretty cold out and I don't want you getting sick."

            "He's right Steven, now why don't we get these groceries put away and I can make you two some warm tea."

            "Alright!" And with that Steven bounded towards the Temple, Pearl and Greg slowly walking in tow. Greg took some of Pearls bags, helping her carry them into the house.

            "So where are the others?" He asked, setting down the remaining bags on the counter.

            "Oh, Amethyst is probably at the barn and I think Garnet said something about a mission, so she's probably out somewhere."

            "So Ruby and Sapphire got back together then?" This brought Greg some relief, knowing that Ruby would be ok after everything.

            "Oh yes! It was quite touching really, when Ruby got back; Sapphire was waiting for her right in the middle of the room. Ruby looked scared at first but before she could say anything Sapphire opened her arms and smiled at her, Ruby basically jumped right onto her, and they fused almost instantaneously. Steven heard all the commotion and jumped down to give Garnet a hug, then Amethyst joined in and eventually we were all in one massive hug together. I'm glad everything got sorted out, how about on your end, is Jasper doing better?"

            Greg tensed up at the mention of the quartzes name; images of her from this morning came to mind.

            "Oh, she's doing alright, I think she's pretty much accepted Ruby's apology, although she did seem..." He cut himself off, not sure if he should share that information to Pearl. Jasper does seem to really look down on showing any type of weakness.

            "Seems like what, is she having some trouble with something Greg?" Pearl looked at him expectantly.

            "W-what, no, she's fine, she just seems to be... a little annoyed to have to live with me still, that's all, but we're getting along a lot better lately. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, hoping Pearl didn't catch on to his blatant lie. Luckily Pearl didn't seem to notice his stutter and just clapper her hands together and smiled.

            "Well it's good you two are getting along, hopefully she'll start enjoying her new living situation soon." Pearl said, putting away the last of the groceries. "Now I'm going to start making everyone some drinks, Steven why don't you get to work on the puzzle and Greg, you can go warm up in the living room if you would like." Steven gave a small salute and plopped down next to the small table in the living room, Greg laughed at all the energy the kid had while he sat down on the couch next to him.

            Time passed away in silence, which meant Greg's earlier thoughts that he was able to discard earlier, had come back along with some new worries. What would Steven and the Gems think if he told them he was in love with Jasper, what would Jasper do if he told her he loved her? Jasper was strong, beautiful, and full of life; while here he was, old, injured, and let's face it, really out of his prime by now. What would a gem like Jasper ever want with some human like him?

            Before his thoughts could drag him down that hole any further, he was tapped on the shoulder by Pearl, who held out a cup of tea towards him.

            "Are you ok Greg, I said the teas ready three times and you haven't even budged." Greg took the drink, opting to look at the small ripples in the tea rather than meeting the pale gems gaze.

            "I'm fine Pearl, just got some things on my mind." He tried to push away the subject, not wanting to bring this up until he figured it out himself.

            "Oh I'll have none of that, I've seen that look before plenty of times, something's the matter." He glanced up at Pearl, then over at Steven who seemed so oblivious to it all, just merrily working on his puzzle, tongue poking out in concentration. He let out a sigh, he knew how adamant Pearl could get on things like this. He almost wanted to laugh about how far the two of them have come, in the past she didn't want to have anything to do with him but here they are now, they've become really close; and in all honesty, Pearl is probably the closest friend he has right now. 

            "Can we go talk outside?"

            "O-of course, if that would make you more comfortable." Pearl was surprised at how closed Greg seemed to be right now, usually he's been pretty open about his problems lately, if he ever had something he wanted to talk about, any worries he had he always seemed to come to her to talk it out and vice-versa; yet whatever he's worried about right now, he really doesn't seem to want to share.

            As the two walked toward the door, Pearl told Steven that they would be back soon, getting a smile and a nod in response. Once the two were outside and Steven was out of earshot, Pearl looked over at Greg.

            "So, do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

                                            ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

            With a burst of light and dust, the corrupted gem Garnet and Jasper had been chasing down finally poofed. Jasper sat down on a log, her helmet disappearing in a flash while Garnet sent the gem back to the burning room. Garnet smirked as she joined Jasper in the log.

            "Little out of shape are we?" She said with a chuckle. Jasper gave her a cold stare before responding.

            "Maybe it's because I haven't been on any real missions since I've joined you Crystal Gems until now."

            "Sorry again, I shouldn't have acted like that, not treating you as one of us." She looked away from the orange gem, gazing into the dense jungle that the two gems had to traverse moments ago.

            "It's fine, don't worry about it." Jasper could practically feel the awkwardness oozing around them; she glanced around at her surroundings, trees reaching the sky, stray beams of light here in there poking holes through the layers of leaves blockading the rest of the bright morning sky. It was weird going from night to day so fast again, after all the time she's been secluded to one spot, without the use of warp pads or anything else. After some time passed, the quartz gem decided to be the one to break the silence.

            "Don't you think we should head out back to the Temple? Or are we waiting for something?"

            "You could say that." Garnet said, a small mischievous smile almost betraying her true intentions. "Why don't we just sit back and relax for a while, we could catch up on all the talking we missed out on."

            This confused Jasper tremendously but hey, Garnet probably has some reason for all this, she might as well comply.

            "Fine, anything specific you want to ask?"

            "How are things with Greg going?"

            Jaspers almost fell right of log, not ready for that question at all.

            "T-things are going fine; I've accepted my new living conditions."

            "Well that's good, but now that the two of us are no longer at each other's throats you could come live at the Temple instead of in some small converted house."

            "No! Er, I mean, that is..." She pretends to cough a little, trying to catch herself before she says anything really embarrassing.

            "That is to say... I've grown accustomed to living with Greg, and with how injured he is, he could use some help, so I should probably stay with him for a little longer at least, it would be a shame if he had another accident." She hopes Garnet can't tell how much she just lied right then but held her head in her hands with a groan the second she looked over to see the fusion trying desperately not to laugh.

            "I have to say Jasper, with all the different outcomes I saw; I honestly didn't expect this one. Do you want to talk about it, now that the cat's out of the bag and all?"

            "What does an Earth animal and a bag have to... never mind, just forget what just happened alright." The usually large imposing gem wanted nothing more than to hide away from all this. And now both Garnet and Amethyst know something's wrong with her, and it's only been a two days, soon enough even the two dorks in the barn will know. She didn't look up when she felt a hand comfily placing itself on her back, but she did loosen up as the other gem comforted her.

            'Hey, it's fine Jasper, there's nothing wrong with what you're feeling, and if you don't want to talk about, that's completely fine, but I just want you to know that not only am I here for you, I'm sure all the others would be as well. If you want to, we can get up, head straight to the warp pad and I won't mention this to anyone. Or, we can stay right here and talk, whichever you would prefer."

            Jasper wanted to just stand right up and say let's just go back to the Temple, she wanted to forgot all this happened, but she also wants to sort out these feelings, she wants to understand why she feels these things about some human, she wants to know what to do. With a long, drawn out and defeated sigh, Jasper fell back onto the ground, feeling the crunch of all the leaves crackling under her back and her now disheveled hair splayed out in all directions.

            "I'm guessing that means you want to talk so is there anything specific you want to talk about?" Jasper groaned and covered her face again, mumbling into her arm.

            "I just want to know why I feel this way about some dumb human."          

            "Well first off, can you tell me how you feel about Greg?" She knows this isn't going to be easy, but out of all the paths she sees, this one seems to lead to the best outcome.

            "I don't know! It's just that, I want to protect him, I want to be there by his side; it's like... it's like how I felt for my Diamond... but not? I always knew that Pink Diamond cared for me, just like she cared for all other gems, but that the feelings I had for her, she would never feel the same way back and I accepted that. But Greg's different, I know he cares about me, and he cares about everyone else just like my Diamond did, but... it's just, whenever he gets close, I want to move in and get closer, if we start talking, I don't want the conversation to end, I want to be there for him just like I was for my Diamond but I also want him to feel the same way? Ahhhhggg! I don't understand what's wrong with me, why I feel this way towards some human?!" Jasper felt like she was on the verge of tears and when Garnet picked her up and wrapped her in a hug, she couldn't stop the dam from bursting. Jasper didn't care for pride anymore, only wanting, needing the comfort; she latched onto the fusion, holding her tight as she cried, never once loosening her grip until she calmed down.

            "It's ok Jasper, you're ok. There is nothing wrong with you, I understand that what you're feeling can seem frightening and wrong, but you need to understand that what your feeling is perfectly normal." She rubbed the quartzes back, she knew probably better than most the complexities and insecurities that can come from these sudden and strange feelings.

            Jasper scoffed a harsh, sarcastic laugh. "A gem and a human together is normal huh?"  

            "Maybe not, but no matter who it is, it's still love. No matter if it's a Ruby and a Sapphire, a Peridot and a Lapis Lazuli, or even a Jasper and a Human, it's still love, so don't for one second think there is something wrong with how you feel."

            Jasper didn't know what to say, she didn't even think she could say anything after that. Soon she loosened her grip on Garnet, leaning back and giving the other gem a small but sincere smile.

            "Thanks... I'm sorry about breaking down on you like that, it's just... I think everything that's weighed down on me got to be a bit much." She gave a weak laugh.

            "It's perfectly fine Jasper, I'm just glad I was able to help."

            "So what do I do now?"

            "It's always good to be honest about your feelings; you should go and tell Greg how you feel."

            "But what if he doesn't feel the same way?! What if he hates me!?"

            "Trust me Jasper, Greg would never hate you. Now why don't we head back to the Temple, it's probably getting late there, wouldn't want you to miss out on seeing Steven today."

            Jasper wasn't sure about that first part, but she didn't really want to think about it any longer, feeling both physically and mentally exhausted, she lugged her way back to the warp pad to beam back home.

                                                _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

            Greg sat down on the steps, his gaze going out across the ocean. Pearl leaned against the railing, staring down at Greg, worried for what could be troubling him so much. The silence was broken by a question Pearl did not expect.

            "Do you think I'm allowed to move on?" He didn't move, his eyes still staring down the ocean waves.

            "What do you mean?" Pearl asked even though she knew what he meant.

            "Do you think I'm allowed to fall in love again? Even after Rose?" His voice sounded tired, broken; Pearl could tell how much this was weighing on him. Before she even realized it her voice already gave an answer.

            "Yes. Eventually we all move on Greg, that doesn't mean we have to forget the past... it just means that we don't have to let it decide our future." She lifted her gaze towards the moon, memories flooding her mind, some still hurt, but not as much.

            "Have you been able to?"

            "Yes." Newer memories came to mind, ones of a new love. Realization soon hit Pearl, a question appearing that she felt she knew the answer to.

            "Is it Jasper?" Greg didn't respond at first, Pearl stared down at him, waiting for something; eventually the human nodded his head. Even with this melancholic air surrounding them, Pearl managed to smile.

            "That's fantastic Greg... is it ok if I share something with you?" Greg stared up at the gem in confusion, both at the answer and at the question.

            "Of course." 

            "I didn't want to tell you at first, but I've fallen in love again. I was just never sure how to bring it up, and eventually I forgot that I never told you. I knew how much you felt for Rose, maybe even more than I ever did, and it was so soon after we started to get alone that I didn't want you to think that the reason I treated you so horribly could be pushed away so easily... I didn't want you to hate me just as we were starting to get along so well." She took a breath, trying to catch herself. "What I'm trying to say Greg, is that it's ok to move on, it's ok to feel what you're feeling for Jasper, in fact, it's more than ok, it's wonderful. I'm so happy you for you two." A look of sadness spread across Greg's face.

            "I doubt she feels the same for me."

            "Why would you say that?" Pearl recalls that during the whole incident Jasper was clinging to Greg a majority of the time, all of her actions would point to the fact that she cares for Greg in some way.

            "Isn't it obvious?! I mean look at her, she's beautiful, she's strong, and once you get to know her even a little you find out that she's actually really kind and sweet and is probably the most adorable person I have ever met, and that counts Steven and... and I'm just a human, and old broken human at that." He looked down, not wanting to face Pearl any longer, so it was a shock when he felt her long petite arms wrap around him from behind, a faint sniffling could be heard.

            "Oh Greg, that was beautiful. It makes me so happy that the two of you could find the love and comfort that I know you both need in each other."  
            "Haven't you been listening Pearl? She would never feel the same way about me." But Pearl wouldn't have it, with a strength that you wouldn't expect from looking at her; she picked Greg up and twirled him around to face her, looking him dead in the eyes. 

            "I will have none of that Mr. Universe; you don't even know how she truly feels and you've given up. Now I need you to trust me when I say that if you go and tell her how you feel, I'm almost positive she'll like you back."

            She said this with such a stern look and such sincerity that Greg couldn't stop himself, tears filled his eyes and a smile that covered his face appeared as he hugged Pearl tightly. Greg crying made Pearl start crying and soon the two were a mess of tears and laughter, bound only by their arms holding them together. Eventually the laughter and crying subsided and the two broke apart, both smiling wide at each other.

            "Thanks Pearl, I... I really needed that."

            "It was no problem whatsoever Greg, sometimes you just have to let it all out."

            "So do you honestly believe she could feel the same way for me?" His voice giving away the newfound hope that Pearl's words have given him.

            "I do, now why don't we head back inside, we don't want you to get sick alongside being injured." She walked over to the door holding it open for Greg as he walked in.

            Ok, but now that I shared all this, you have to tell me about this mystery girl of yours, what's she like?" He wiggled his eyebrows mischievously, his worries subdued and a new feeling of hope and happiness welled within him.

            Pearl blushed at the question, waving her hand at him, trying to get him to stop.

            "She's just so wonderful Greg; we met during that concert that you had to miss, I wasn't even sure what I was doing half the time, but by the end of the night I somehow ended up with a slip of paper in my hands with her number and well, it's been going great since. We've actually been on quite a few "dates" as you humans say, honestly Greg, just being around her makes me giddy inside, love is such a fantastic thing." Greg could only smile and nod his head as Pearl talked, happy for his friend to have found someone that truly makes her happy, and a small thought in the back of his mind boosted his spirit tremendously, a small thought of, "If Pearl can move on and find love again, then so can I". So right then and there, Greg made up his mind, once he gets back to his place, he's going to tell Jasper how he feels; at least that was his plan until a beam of light from the warp pad revealed not only Garnet but also a tired and disheveled looking Jasper by her side.

            Steven bounded towards the warp pad, almost knocking apart his puzzle in the process.

            "Garnet your back, and wait, Jasper! Did you go on the mission to? Oh My Gosh! Was that your first mission, was it fun, was it exciting, how did it go?!" The little bundle of energy bounced around the two gems in excitment until Garnet picked him up and plopped him on her head.

            "Now now Steven, Jasper is very tired, and you need to settle down. She had some difficulty keeping up and needs her rest." She sent a small smirk to Jasper whose only response was a small tired growl.

            Meanwhile, Greg was standing paralyzed, every bit of readiness he had was gone, vanished, kaput, and he basically became a deer in headlights. It wasn't until Pearl gave him a little push, telling him that he'll be fine, that he walked up to the large gem.

            Jasper didn't even notice Greg until she heard his voice.

            "Hey Jasper, how was your first mission?"

            The large gem looked up in a hurry, her thoughts a mix of confusion and fear, what was Greg doing here? She wasn't sure what to say so she just said fine, at least that's what she thought she said, in reality her voice made some type of jumbled mess of noises that sounded almost like a grunt. Thankfully for her Garnet decided to intervene, unluckily for her, Garnet decided to intervene.

            "Greg, I'm glad you're here, I need to talk to you." Greg flinched unconsciously as Garnet approached; he scolded himself for that internally.

            "First off, I want to apologize for my actions, what I did the other day was inexcusable, and I'm sorry."

            "I-it's fine Garnet, I know you weren't yourself when that all happened."   

            Garnet smiled and let out a sigh of relief she didn't even know she was holding.

            "Now Greg, I have a very important mission for you."

            "Wait, a mission? For me?!" Greg pointed to himself in shock, every time he hears about the Crystals Gems missions it's always them fighting some gem creature or something.

            "Relax Greg, I'm not asking you to go on one of those missions', I just need your help with something."  

            "Phew, you had me worried there Garnet, I mean, I know I may look like a total stud, but I don't think I could handle fighting some gem monster." He puffed out his chest as he said things, making both Pearl and Jasper snort.

            "Right, so as you know, I have seen a large storm coming our way in the near future, so I need you to head down to the barn to make the necessary improvements so that it can handle the storm and the gems living in it will be safe. Think you can handle that?" Greg gave her a salute and a yes mam but then soon wavered.

            "Actually with my injuries I don't think I can do any heavy lifting or some of the tougher jobs, and I'm not sure if Peridot or Lapis would be up for the tasks either, do you think you could come and help, or maybe Amethyst?" Garnet shook her head slowly.

            "No, I will need them here, but I think I have an idea." She walked over to Jasper and pushed her forward slightly as if presenting her. "I'll just send Jasper with you; she can be your personal muscle."

            Both Jasper and Greg grew extremely flustered at this proposition of Garnets and both tried to hide their flushing faces.

            "T-that's fine, I mean, as long as Jasper's ok with helping."

            "S-sure, it's not a problem."

            Garnet remained her stoic self but on the inside she could feel Sapphire and Ruby giving each other a high-five. "Great, you two should head back to your place and get some rest; I want this done as soon as possible, so you should head out to the barn by tomorrow morning." Steven then popped up from behind to chime in as well.

            "Can I go too Garnet?" 

            "Sorry Steven, I'm going to need your help as well, it's just going to have to be Greg and Jasper for now."

            "Aww, oh well." He shrugged his shoulders before turning to his dad. "Make sure to say hi to Lapis and Peri for me tomorrow."

            "Will do Steve-o, will do." He ruffled Stevens' hair lovingly before saying his goodbyes.

            "I guess it's time me and Jasper head out now huh, big day and all tomorrow." Greg chuckled nervously as he inched his way out the door, Jasper slowly followed behind, seeming to make sure that she doesn't stick to close to Greg.

             Soon the Temple was quiet, until the half-gem broke the silence.

            "Is it just me or are those two acting weird towards one another?"  

            Garnet and Pearl exchanged a quick glance and smile before Pearl lead Steven back over to the almost complete puzzle.

            "I'm sure it's just your imagination Steven."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, like it's good but could have been better you know? I might come back and revise this one later. 
> 
> Also, I have side things to work on now and this is going to have to go down on my priority list again, I'm not going to be taking a long break from this or anything but chapters might take longer to be published, but not by a lot hopefully. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, tune in next time to see my most favorite gem who is not in nearly enough chapters.


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